“Selling the public a DIY self assessment kit that’s five years out of date beggars belief,” said Hall. “There’s been various tax changes since then, not least numerous changes to the annual allowance, so any member of the public using these could find themselves getting into a real mess, and potentially facing an HMRC fine as a result.

“I’ve brought this issue to WHSmith’s attention and am pleased they have agreed to withdraw these from sale as a matter of urgency. If a member of the public needs help with their tax return I’d suggest going to a qualified professional such as an AAT licensed accountant,” continued Hall.

Returns due in January 2020 correspond to the 2018-19 tax year, and those who fail to file on time face automatic fines of £100, rising to more than £1,000 for returns which are filed more than a year late.

In a statement, WHSmith said it was removing the book (pictured above) from its stock system at once and it had been on sale “in error”.

“We take our responsibility for the products we sell very seriously,” the statement continued, “and we are removing this product from sale immediately.”

The store also confirmed that it would be investigating whether the sale was a one-off at its Sevenoaks Store, or if the book had been available elsewhere.

I don't think it is fair to expect book stores to be alert to yearly changes in tax law. W H Smith has been selling novels for some 50 decades or more and I do not think novels or DIY books go out of date. It is just a shame that there was a tax book specific to 2014/15.

Perhaps AAT is suggesting that every bookstore should have a resident AAT employee to "check" that all year-relevant books are cleared from the shelves.

Yes; that's precisely my point above. It's a complete non-story done purely for publicity. (The alternative headline "Booksellers sometimes either accidentally or deliberately sell out of date books, including tax books" is not so attention-grabbing is it?)

A shame that this otherwise esteemed online publication has fallen for it and is publicising this cr ap.

Aweb should save face and remove this AAT free publicity story in my view (the whole contrivance was designed in such a way to make it attractive padding for bored journalists in the middle of the silly season).

I don't see anything wrong with this book. The book on its cover clearly and specifically says "For completing both 2014 and 2015 tax returns". It can remain on display for sale for any number of years in the future for any person who is interested to know how completing the tax returns for 2014-15 was looking like.
I see this article as a direct publicity for both WHSmith and AAT.
I think our Editor Mr Tom Herbert should have got the eagle-eye and spotted that the "eagle-eyed AAT employee" has got it wrong.